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Mario Kart 8
}} Mario Kart 8 (abbreviated to MK8) is a kart-racing game exclusive to the Wii U. It is the eighth Mario Kart game in the series (eleventh overall if including the arcade games). It was released on May 29, 2014 in Japan, May 30, 2014 in North America, Europe, and Brazil, and May 31, 2014 in Australia. A new feature, anti-gravity, is introduced to the Mario Kart series while past features such as gliding, underwater driving, vehicle customization, and bikes return. Gameplay In the eighth installment of the Mario Kart series, anti-gravity is introduced. Via sensors, it enables players to drive on surfaces that are upside-down or tilted at a steep angle. This is one of the main focuses of the game, the feature being used in every new course. Gliding and underwater features return from Mario Kart 7, working in the same way, as do coins. Kart customization also makes a return, with bikes, from Mario Kart Wii, were added into the game as well. ATVs are also new types of vehicles. Mario Kart 8 brought back 16 old and brought 16 new courses. It also brought 16 downloadable courses, which the total sum of that is 48 tracks. Battle mode returns, but battling is done on race tracks now, unlike it was done in previous Mario Kart titles. Stamps are also a new feature in the game, being collectible based on fulfilling certain criteria. They can be posted to Miiverse. Online modes also return, being playable, with up to two people on the same console. Mario Kart TV, or MKTV for short, is introduced in this game, where players can watch highlights from various races and battles. They can also share them to Miiverse and YouTube (However you will need a Google account). Modes Grand Prix In Grand Prix mode, twelve players compete for first place in cups of four races. They are awarded with points based on their placements at the end of races, and the racer with more points at the end wins. This mode can be played with more than one player. Time trials .]]Time trials allow players to race for the best time possible, either on their own or against a ghost. It is not possible to play this mode with more than one player. VS .]]VS allows players to race, but with their own custom rule sets set such as difficultly. It makes a return to single player from Mario Kart 7, when it was only available in multiplayer mode. Here, it can be played alone or with up to four people. Battle .]]In battle mode, players must attack each other with items to make them lose balloons and gain a point. If players lose all of their balloons, they are eliminated. They can still play, but cannot win. They are invisible while defeated. This can be played with up to four people. This is the only Battle Mode that players use actual race courses instead of battle arenas. Online Players can race and battle online, alone or with another player. At the end of a race, players earn or lose VR based on how well they did the race. Characters Thirty six characters are playable in this game (including Mii) making this the most amount of playable characters a Mario Kart game has ever had. Baby Rosalina and Pink Gold Peach are introduced to the overall Mario series in this game. The Koopalings, consisting of Larry, Lemmy, Wendy, Ludwig, Iggy, Roy and Morton become playable for the first time. Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, Link, Villager, Isabelle, and Dry Bowser are DLC characters, from the Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart and Animal Crossing x Mario Kart packs respectively. Baby Daisy and Shy Guy, for the first time in the series, do not need to be unlocked and are playable from the start. Default Racers Unlockable Racers Downloadable Racers Vehicle parts Karts Bikes ATVs Wheels Gliders Unlocking criteria Characters Unlike how previous games have done, characters will unlock at random each time a cup is won. Also, characters that are not yet unlocked appear as CPU characters during races, unlike previous Mario Kart Games. Vehicle parts Vehicle parts are unlocked by collecting coins from Grand Prix, VS Mode, Time Trials, and online races. Coins collected by additional players are counted. Coins will count towards the player's coin total only for completed races -- if the player collects coins then quits during a race, the coins from that race will not be added to their coin total. There are 38 unlockable parts, excluding golden parts. Players can unlock new parts for every 50 coins, but once players have collected 1000 coins, 100 coins are instead needed to unlock new parts. Like in Mario Kart 7, players can see how many coins they've collected by viewing the statistics screen from the main menu (this feature is available for only Ver. 2.0 and further of Mario Kart 8, however). 'Special parts' Special gold parts are unlocked with the following criteria: *Gold Standard: Obtain a minimum of one star ranking in all non-DLC cups of every engine class. *Gold Tires: Beat the Staff Ghost on all 32 non-DLC courses, Or obtain 15,000 coins. *Gold Glider: Obtain 10,000 coins. Courses New courses Retro courses Downloadable courses Battle stages In Mario Kart 8, unique battle stages are not present. The mode is instead played on race courses rather than enclosed arenas. All battle courses are playable from the start; regardless of whether the cup they appear in is or not. The only playable battle mode is Balloon Battle, making this game the first game since Mario Kart: Super Circuit to feature only one battle mode. Staff Ghosts Items Items found on the track New items Returning items Stamps In Mario Kart 8, players can obtain stamps that can be used in Miiverse posts. There are 100 stamps in the game: 28 are available from the start, while another 62 stamps can be obtained by winning a Grand Prix with every non-DLC character and beating the Staff Ghost on each non-DLC course in Time Trials. In addition, ten more stamps were added with the version 4.0 update. However, beating a Staff Ghost on a DLC course or using a DLC character to complete a Grand Prix will not unlock a stamp. amiibo As of the version 3.0 update, Mario Kart 8 includes compatibility with amiibo. By using certain amiibos, players can unlock one of ten costumes for use by Miis based upon the amiibo character. The amiibo was originally compatible for Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Donkey Kong, Link, Toon Link, Kirby, Captain Falcon, Samus, and Fox. Nine more suits were later added with the version 4.0 update, which can be unlocked by using Mega Man, Sonic, Villager, Pac-Man, Toad, Wario, Olimar, Rosalina, and Bowser. Downloadable Content As of the version 2.0 update, the game includes an in-game shop feature through which players can purchase and pre-order downloadable content. Alternatively, players can purchase content through the Nintendo eShop like normal. Nintendo has released free kart parts as part of a collaboration with Mercedes-Benz. Six characters were also confirmed to be downloadable, including three from other series. These characters would come in forms of 2 themed DLC Packs containing a total of eight vehicles (with seperate vehicle parts) and four cups consisting of four tracks each. ''Mercedez-Benz × Mario Kart 8 '''Vehicle Parts:' *GLA (kart) *W 25 Silver Arrow (kart) *300 SL Roadster (kart) *GLA Tires ''Legend of Zelda × Mario Kart 8 '''Characters:' *Tanooki Mario *Cat Peach *Link Vehicle Parts: *Blue Falcon (kart) *Tanooki Kart (kart) *B Dasher (kart) *Master Cycle (bike) *Triforce Tires *Hylian Kite Tracks: Egg Cup *GCN Yoshi Circuit *Excitebike Arena *Dragon Driftway *Mute City Triforce Cup *Wii Wario's Gold Mine *SNES Rainbow Road *Ice Ice Outpost *Hyrule Circuit ''Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 '''Characters:' *Villager *Isabelle *Dry Bowser Vehicle Parts: *Streetle (kart) *P-Wing (kart) *City Tripper (bike) *Bone Rattler (ATV) *Leaf Tires *Paper Glider Tracks: Crossing Cup *GCN Baby Park *GBA Cheese Land *Wild Woods *Animal Crossing Bell Cup *3DS Neo Bowser City *GBA Ribbon Road *Super Bell Subway *Big Blue It was also confirmed that 8 other colors for Yoshi and Shy Guy would be included as well to include immediately. The colors are, red (not for Shy Guy), orange, yellow, green (not for Yoshi), light blue, blue, purple, black, white and pink. Development Development started in 2012. It was announced in the Wii U Nintendo Direct on January 23, 2013. Nintendo presented more information at E3 2013. Updates Version 2.0 On the same day as the release of the Mercedes Benz x Mario Kart 8 downloadable content pack, an update for the game was also released in which the game adds an option to display the map on the TV screen by pressing Minus Button on the GamePad, and a records section, which shows how many coins have been collected, online wins and losses, and other statistics. The update also saves the players' last used vehicle combo (excluding DLC vehicle parts), lets them edit other players' highlight reels, and improves online stability. Additionally, the maximum online race and battle ratings have increased from "9999" to "99999". The rating system has also been altered in that the amount of points that the players win or lose after an online race or battle is more drastic if there's a large rating difference between participating players. In tournaments without race or battle limits, players can now have more than 1024 points during a tournament period; without the update, players with at least 1024 points have their score reset to zero for the next race/battle. Players must download the update in order to continue playing online. The update also swaps the 'Next Race/Round/View Results' and 'View Highlight Reel' buttons in offline mode, and adds a Shop button on the main menu, where players can download the Mercedes DLC, and pre-order Add-On Content. The character icons on the map HUD are also altered. Version 3.0 On November 13, 2014, the update to version 3.0 was made available. The update includes compatibility with amiibo figures and enables the first downloadable content pack for those who purchased it. The update also allows the game to save any last used vehicle combo that uses any of the DLC vehicle parts or characters. Also, when a light racer bumps into a heavier one, it will be pushed less far away. In terms of online, the race and battle rating system has been modified to be less punishing to players who did poorly in a race or battle. Additionally, players can now set up tournaments that have cup limitations. The update is required to continue playing online, but players cannot play in rooms or tournaments that include the downloadable tracks until they have purchased them. Players that have not purchased the add-on packs can still encounter the included characters and vehicles online, but cannot select them. Version 4.0 It was released on April 23, 2015, the same day as the Animal Crossing × Mario Kart 8 downloadable content pack. In addition to the downloadable content and some bug fixes, the update adds nine additional amiibo racing suits and compatible figures, and adds a "200cc" engine class. Ten new Miiverse stamps have also been added. The update also allows players to enable the on-screen map using any controller, rather than just the GamePad. In online mode, players who left a race/battle will not have their race/battle rating visible for other racers to see after a race/battle. The race rating and battle rating system remains the same as in the 3.0 update. Lastly, additional tournament settings have been added to support 200cc and the two cups in the second DLC pack. Version 4.1 It was released on May 1, 2015. In addition to general gameplay adjustments and bug fixes, the update adds the Mirror and 200cc engine classes to Grand Prix mode by default, without having to unlock them. Reception Mario Kart 8 has received mostly favorable reviews, and has been lauded as one of the best games in the series to date. General praise has been given to the game's graphics, the tracks, the music, and the overall gameplay. The addition of anti-gravity has also been praised, as has the online mode. The roster, however, notably the amount of baby and metal characters, and the lack of previous racer veterans, has received some criticism. The battle mode, however, has a universal negative reaction among reviewers, with most of reviewers preferring the traditional battle modes that previous Mario Kart games did rather than this iteration. Mario Kart 8 won two awards at "The Game Awards 2014", being the "Best Family Game" and the "Best Sports/Racing Game". Gallery Soundtrack :Main Article: Mario Kart 8 Original Soundtrack Trivia *In the E3 demo, Donkey Kong's standard bike color was brown, but in the final build it was yellow. *On the koopalings artwork, Morton's ATV color was black when in the final version it was green. The artwork is still used in the actual game though. *When you're in first place, a beat has been added to the music. This also happens in Mario Kart 7. This beat is called 'frontrunning'. *At the startup screen of Mario Kart 8, engine sounds can heard. This originated in Mario Kart 64's start up screen. * At the course selection screen, the courses can also be recognized by pictures on top of the name. This is a possible reference to [[Mario Kart: Double Dash!!|''Mario Kart: Double Dash!!]] as in that game there are pictures of the character it is based on (if any), a little background, and the name. These pictures are used as recognition of the tracks in online mode and names are not included underneath in online mode. * This is the first game to not have an Award Ceremony after a Grand Prix. * This is only the fourth game to feature only one battle mode; Balloon Battle, as well as the first since ''Mario Kart: Super Circuit. * This is the first game in the series to support Downloadable Content, a Cup where retro tracks meet up with new ones, game crossover, and Rainbow Road does not appear as final track in Cup. * This is the first game to have three Rainbow Road tracks. * This is the first game to have 200cc as an extra engine class, which can be bought in the second DLC pack. * The course maps in this game show all the shortcuts on them, if any in the course. This means that there are no shortcuts that are truly "hidden" in this game. Category:Games Category:Home console games * Category:Mario Kart series Category:DLC